Welcome to FarmGirl Crochet! FarmGirl Crochet started out as my hobby but has now turned into my business (ad)venture.
Waaay back in the mid-1980’s, my Gramma taught me how to knit while watching Hockey Night in Canada (go Oilers!). I could wind yarn into balls like nobody’s business and make beautiful scarves for my Barbies and dolls. That was the extent of my expertise – but at least my dolls had stylish neckwear to keep them warm.
Fast forward about 20ish years to when my youngest of four children was born. A couple of my friends had started crocheting and knitting and it was quickly becoming a ‘cool’ hobby again. After being gifted some of the cutest crocheted toques and mitts for my kids, I was inspired to give it a go! After all, if I could learn to knit when I was 7 or 8 years old, it was going to be a piece of cake to teach myself how to crochet.
I went to my local Michaels, grabbed some pretty yarn and a random hook and hit up Google for some how-to’s and an easy pattern. How hard could it be? Well, as it turns out, it’s kinda hard! I started out crocheting a toque for our new baby, and ended up with one so small it wouldn’t fit my older daughter’s doll’s head! I had a flash-back to knitting scarves for my dolls…but at least the scarves fit! So, back to Google, YouTube and many blogs and helpful hint websites. After a few weeks of trial and error, I finally was confident enough in my creation to put it on my child’s head – and wow! I couldn’t believe the compliments and comments I was getting from her toque! I was hooked (so to speak).
Over the years, I have gone from creating simple toques and beanies to more complicated ones. I’ve tried my hand at mittens, crocheted a few sweaters for myself and others, and made scarves, blankets and on and on. I would often tweak patterns to make them ‘my own’ creation, adding buttons or flowers or a different band on a toque.
One day, I was following along with a pattern that was not making sense to me at all. I was scribbling down changes, making new stitch counts and crossing out sections and adding in my own ideas. I realized after I finished the toque that it didn’t look ANYTHING like the pattern photo – I had just created my OWN ORIGINAL work of art! It was an awesome feeling!
While I still purchase patterns from some of my favorite designers, it is such a fantastic feeling to be able to create my own patterns. I’ve started this blog and site to be able to share those patterns with you, along with helpful hints, ideas and inspiration if you want to try designing your own patterns.
Thanks for stopping by – I hope you find some inspiration to create something amazing!
Kelly